Wheelchair-using Callixte Karasira, a resident of the Gikondo suburb of Kigali has always been struggling to getting on public buses because able-bodied passengers on board seemed reluctant to make room for him.
Typical for individuals with disabilities like Karasira, accessing public transportation has always been a challenge.
“Like many other disabled people without any other means of transport, we have had always difficulties getting around on public transport, and on top of that, sometimes they face negative attitudes from other passengers,” Karasira told APA in an exclusive interview.
The situation is set to change with the arrival of new disabled-friendly buses touted as far more convenient for physically challenged people.
“But in most cases, the behaviour of the passengers sometimes irked bus driver, who used to stand up for disabled people like me” he said.
Approximately 4 percent of the Rwanda’s population, or an estimated total of 446,453 persons live with disabilities, according to projections from the Population and Housing Census conducted in 2012.
Yet, the the number of persons with disabilities is higher in rural areas than in urban areas.
Official estimates indicate that mobility constraints are a serious impediment to disability-inclusive development, as they exacerbate the personal, economic, and social isolation of
persons with disabilities.
Currently level boarding to the newly introduced intelligent public transportation ensures that wheelchairs can access the vehicles.
“People with disabilities must have a place in all matters that affect the course of their lives,” said Emmanuel Ndayisaba, the Executive Secretary of National Council of Persons with Disabilities (NCPD).
Ndayisaba noted that a key factor preventing the inclusion of disabled people is the ongoing discrimination against and segregation into various services and economic activities.
Yet such exclusion also extends to the labor market as the employment-to-population ratio of persons with disabilities aged 15 and older is almost half that of persons without disabilities.
According to estimates by the National Council of Persons with Disabilities (NCPD), those who are employed tend to earn lower wages than their counterparts without disabilities.
In a recent move, Rwanda Federation of Transport Cooperatives (RFTC), one of the operators of Kigali’s public transit system purchased 11 buses from China that are designed to enable people with disabilities.
In the first implementation phase of the ambitious project, the company invested 1 billion Rwandan Francs ($1.1 million USD) to pilot this project for which the ultimate goal is to allocate more resources and serve the whole country.
“We want persons with disability to start enjoying friendly and accessible public transport in the entire public transport system,” said Louis Dodo Twahirwa, Chairman of Jali Holdings Ltd Executive, promoter of the initiative.
In addition, Twahirwa stresses that the increasing and improving such initiatives for people with disabilities may turn the experiences of economic growth a more equitable and inclusive one.
But now Karasira showcases determination and courage everyday, boarding public transportation for disabled persons who are entertaining hope that the state will do more to help improve the quality of their lives.
In Rwanda the majority of people with disabilities rely on public transportation as their only alternative means of moving about.
However, some associations advocating the rights for people with disabilities have been quick to sound a note of caution.
They say the limited number of such kind of buses means that their services will somehow be very limited in some urban areas.
“Accessing bus stations with wheelchair is another challenge which mean very few wheelchair users will be able to consider public bus transport as a transportation option,” says a human rights activist based in Kigali who spoke to APA on the condition of anonymity.
The activist also regrets that despite the government’s effort to assuage the plight of disabled people, not all staff employed by public transport companies are well trained to handle theml.
“This is because, there are fears that some disabled passengers without any other assistance will be abandoned on the buses once they reach their destination,” she adds.
However, the Rwandan Minister of Infrastructure, Claver Gatete assures disabled Rwandans that the public transport policy and strategy was designed to ensure universal public transport services for all citizens irrespective of age, sex, caste, creed, able-bodied or otherwise.
“These efforts should also ensure access to all modes of transport for infirm, disabled and elderly people,” the Rwandan official says.
Currently, the transport sector in Rwanda contributes about 7 percent to its national GDP, and represents 15 percent of total service delivery, according to official estimates.
CU/abj/APA